This invention relates generally to the field of exercise apparatus and relates, more particularly, to exercise apparatus for use during an exercise routine involving the movement of the knees of an individual between extended-leg and bent-leg conditions.
Exercise routines intended to exercise and develop the leg muscles of an individual commonly involve the bending of the legs of the individual at the knees as resistance is applied in opposition to the bending movement. In a common leg-extension apparatus which utilizes a bench upon which a user sits so that his thighs are oriented horizontally and a weight-supporting member pivotally connected to the bench, a user repeatedly raises and lowers the weight-supporting member with his feet as the user moves his legs from a bent condition (at which the feet hang downwardly from the bench) to a straight-leg condition (at which the shins of the user are generally aligned in the horizontal with the user's thighs). In another exercise routine involving the movement of an individual's legs in a curling motion, the individual lies prone upon a bench, maintains the thighs (and knees) of his legs in a stationary position, and then moves his feet between extended-leg conditions and bent-leg conditions in a curling motion as resistance to the curling motion is applied at the feet.
In each of the aforementioned examples of leg extension and leg curl routines, an appreciable amount of stress is exerted upon the user's knees. It is believed that such stress is due, at least in part, to the fixing of the user's knees and thighs in a stationary condition as the legs are moved between bent-leg and straight-leg conditions. In other words, the user's knees are prevented from shifting in position throughout the exercise routine by virtue of the engagement between the thighs and the surface of the bench, and this stationary condition of the thighs effects a concentration of stress (e.g. a shear-related stress) at the knee joints. Furthermore, during use of either of the aforedescribed leg extension and leg curl routines, the work of the user's hamstring muscles is limited. Still further, the performance of the aforementioned leg curling exercise can expose the user's back muscles to undue strain.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved apparatus for use during the performance of leg exercise routines which prevents the concentration of an appreciable amount of stress upon the user's knees during the leg exercise routines.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus which accommodates the performance of both leg extension and leg curl exercises.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus which permits substantial involvement of the hamstring muscles during an exercise routine.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus which substantially reduces the exposure of the user's back muscles to undue strain during the performance of an exercise routine.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus which, during use, exercises the quadricep and hip flexors of the user's legs in an unprecedented manner.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus which is uncomplicated in construction yet effective in operation.